


See Me the Way I Don't

by ellacj



Series: 52 Weeks of Swan Queen [15]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-23 00:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3748156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”</p><p>-F. Scott Fitzgerald</p>
            </blockquote>





	See Me the Way I Don't

Regina Mills is absolutely insufferable.

Or maybe it’s just around Emma. But it seems that in every single class the two of them have together, which is way too many, Regina just can’t shut up about everything she knows and everything she’s done. _Why I’m better than everyone else at this school_.

But they can’t all have rich mommies to buy their way to Europe and an elite equestrian club and a trip around Australia just for fun. And they can’t all have rich mothers to pay the monstrous tuition NYU charges, and they can’t all have mothers than can be bothered to keep their kid around long enough to remember their name.

Yeah, Regina’s one of the elite, one of the privileged, and Emma has to work job upon job just to make a dent in her student loans. And this is only freshman year. She doesn’t even want to think about the kind of debt she’ll be in after she graduates; the number of hours per week she’ll have to work to pay rent and buy food, that massive loan hanging over her head all the while.

All these thoughts are running through her head as she runs the mop back and forth in steady motions across the linoleum. Back and forth and back and forth all the way to freedom from the bank. “Yeah,” she scoffs aloud. “Maybe once I’m retired.”

The door opens, and who else but Regina _fucking_ Mills is standing at the door, glancing around the room before zeroing in on Emma. “Swan?” She wrinkles her nose in distaste. “Where’s Professor Nolan?”

“He went home.” Emma leans the mop against the desk in the front of the room. “It’s way past office hours, what are you doing here?”

“I came to ask him a question about the requirements for our essay.” She frowns. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Emma’s quiet for a minute before sighing and sitting down on top of the desk with her hands tucked under her thighs. “I clean his classroom every night.”

“Is he making you? Because he can’t do that.”

“No, it’s a goddamn _job_. Not that I expect you to know what that is.”

Regina tilts her head. “I thought you worked at Starbucks.”

“Yep.” Emma hops down from the desk, picking up the mop and resuming her even strokes on the floor. Four months of mopping the same room every night gets you pretty good at it, after all. She knows all the nooks and crannies that gather the most dust.

“So why do you need to do this?”

“To pay off my loans,” Emma snaps finally. “I don’t have rich parents, I don’t have _parents_. I have to work four jobs and do school and that’s just enough to pull me through this year.”

Regina falls quiet. Her mouth opens and closes a few times and Emma almost smiles because this may be the first time ever she’s seen Regina Mills speechless. “I’m sorry,” she says finally.

“Don’t be.” Emma keeps mopping. “At least it keeps me honest.” She finishes her last stroke of the mop with a flourish and plunks it back into the wheeled bucket. “But you know what, send me a postcard from Australia the next time your mom buys you a trip, huh?”

Regina’s eyes narrow, and her lips flatten into a thin line. “I saved for two years to pay for that trip.” Her voice is quiet but sharp, and Emma won’t admit it but she might be a little bit scared right now. She’s clearly hit a sore spot. “I waited tables I in my father’s restaurant for _two years_ and I didn’t spend a penny of it until I bought my plane ticket.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No, you didn’t. You just _assumed_ that because I come from a wealthy family my mother spoils me. Well, guess what, Swan? You couldn’t be farther from the truth. My mother hasn’t given me anything but bruises and a growing list of things I’m afraid of.” She takes a step closer, nostrils flaring dangerously, and Emma’s heart shatters because she knows how angry she herself was when she was afraid.

“Regina,” she murmurs. “I had no idea. I’m sorry I assumed.” She offers a hand. “But you’re not the only one who’s afraid. I’ve been in some pretty bad foster homes, too.” She smiles weakly as Regina takes her hand, eyes softening immediately. “We’re not alone.”

Regina nods slowly and her grip on Emma’s hand relaxes. “I got a full ride,” she whispers, barely audible. “My mother wouldn’t stand for anything less than perfection in school. It paid off, I suppose, in getting me far from her.”

Emma grins. “There you go. She can’t get to you here.”

“If only.” Regina offers a tight smile, pulling her hand from Emma’s grasp. “I need to go finish my work. I’ll see you in class.” And then she’s gone as quickly as she came, books and computer in her arms and door closing swiftly behind her.

Emma stares at the door for a minute, mind spinning. It seems impossible that in the space of a few minutes her entire world regarding Regina Mills was turned upside down, and yet here they are, somehow on an equal standing they’ve never had.

She sighs and grabs her purse from the desk, hating herself already as she jogs down the hall to catch up to Regina and do something she’ll probably regret. “Hey,” she gasps as she approaches, slowing to match Regina’s pace.

“Emma, what are you-”

Emma cuts her off with the most impulsive kiss she’s ever given, and she almost pulls back in shock when she feels Regina kissing her back. When finally she does pull away it’s because she needs to breathe, and Regina’s staring at her with wide eyes and Emma says something stupid. “I hated you this morning.”

Regina smiles softly. “I hated you this morning, too.”

“So… what now?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to finish my essay.” She grins and presses a gentle kiss to Emma’s cheek. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” She flounces off, long dark curls bouncing on her back.

And then there’s Emma, staring after her with her mouth open in a dumb grin. With what she’s seen tonight, she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to keep up with Regina’s rapid changes in demeanor, but damn if she doesn’t think it’s worth the effort. She was planning to ditch class tomorrow to sleep in, but now she’s not so sure. She grins.

Emma Swan’s attendance in American Literature is about to become the best she’s ever had.


End file.
